Boy (5) dies following tragic swimming accident

Ahmed BariAhmed Bari (5) was found in a man-made pond near Mulhuddart yesterday morningTemple Street Children's HospitalThe man-made pond in Tyrelstown, Dublin.Paramedics rushed to the scene and attempted to resuscitate the boy.

This is the face of the tragic five-year-old boy who died after he was found in a pond in Dublin this morning.

Little Ahmed Bari had been had been reported missing from his home and a search was underway to find him when he was discovered in the pond near Mulhuddart.

Emergency services rushed to the scene at the man-made pond in Tyrrelstown at approximately 11am after they were alerted by a passer-by.

The child was rushed to Temple Street Children’s hospital for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead a short time later.

A number of ambulances and fire brigades attended the scene.

They were alerted by a passer-by who spotted the young boy in the pond.

Gardai are treating the death as a tragedy and are preparing a file on the death for a coroner’s inquest.

Gardai said officers were treating the death as a tragic accident.

Khalil Kazi, of Warrenstown House mosque, said he spoke to the little boy's great-grandfather Ghulam after hearing of the tragedy.

The funeral is to take place tomorrow afternoon from Clonskeagh Mosque.

"We know the family very well. They are our friends. The family are very well known and respected in our community," he said.

The drowning is the second in west Dublin in the last fortnight after 13-year-old Ricky Osagie died while rescuing two of his friends on June 20.

The talented footballer, whose funeral took place over the weekend, rescued his friends from a man-made lake in Waterville Hall in Blanchardstown.

David McGuinness, a Fianna Fail councillor who lives in Tyrrelstown, said local residents have been left traumatised by the child's death.

"My thoughts and sympathies are first and foremost with the family today," he said.

"Needless to say it's a terrible, tragic incident and it's the second similar incident in the area in just over a week."

Some children left a bouquet of red carnations near the spot where the youngster was found while tearful women could be seen walking into the park with other youngsters.

One man who did not want to be named said he walks the park almost everyday with his dog at about 9am but was not there this morning.

Messages of condolence were posted on social media as news of the tragedy spread, including from the Tyrrelstown Residents Association which covers 2,300 households.

"The TRA are saddened to hear of the tragic death of a young boy in the lake in Tyrrelstown Park. Our thoughts are with his family and friends," the group said in a Facebook post.

The man-made park and pond on the edge of the Tyrrelstown estate is the property of Fingal County Council and has been developed over the course of the year after 64 acres on the edge of the estates was given over for landscaping.

It is next to local schools and a short walk from hundreds of homes.

A spokeswoman for Fingal County Council said the local authority wished to send condolences to the family of the young boy.

"We wish to offer our sincere sympathies to the family in what is obviously a very tragic accident," the spokeswoman said.

Dublin Fire Brigade were called to the scene as well as local gardai.

Trained paramedics spent some time trying to resuscitate the youngster at the scene before he was taken to Temple Street where resuscitation attempts continued.

Mr McGuinness said officials will need to look at improving safety at the park in light of the accident.

"There are questions to be asked in the coming weeks and months in relation to these places and access to man-made lakes," he said.

"We are going to have to look at this situation and see if there are ways we can improve safety. These places are amenities for the local people but clearly when a five-year-old can leave home and access public waterways we need to look at it from a safety point of view."

The tragedy is 10 days after the last drowning in the Dublin suburbs.

Two teens had been swimming in a man-made lake in Waterville Hall in the Blanchardstown area during the recent heat wave when they got into difficulty.

It is believed their friend, talented footballer Ricky, swam to help rescue them and got into difficulty himself.

Dublin Coast Guard have repeated their call that people should swim in life-guarded waterways only.